Strategies For Planting Tomatoes

We get so many questions about when to plant tomatoes - and with our weirdly fluctuating weather, a specific week or day is almost impossible to predict. Every year the tomato planting fever hits earlier than the weather is right. All the different climate pockets in our area complicate predictions. Our best recommendation is to plant tomatoes when the night temperatures are consistently above 50°F. Does this mean you should NEVER plant before that? No. It means it is a gamble and you should hedge your bets.

How?

• Kozy Coats keep the air around the plant and the soil at its base warmer at night.

• Plant at staggered dates in reverse order of tomato size, cherry tomatoes first and giant beefsteaks last.

• Always plant more than one variety and include one early variety every year. Because our weather seems to be different every year, it may be the only one that thrives.

• Plant tomato starts deep, leaving only 2 or 3 sets of leaves above ground.

• Mulch.

These strategies can help you harvest the earliest possible vine-ripened tomatoes!

Click HERE to see our 2018 Tomato List.

Short on space but still want big flavor and big harvests? Try growing Geranium Kiss Tomato in a container. It is a dwarf plant (about 2 feet tall) that produces large clusters of bright red, golf ball sized fruit with exceptional flavor and good texture. It is ripens early (65 days).

Wonderful Weigela

Weigela is a sweet old-fashioned shrub often seen in spring blooming away in front of stately older homes. Their lovely tubular blossoms attract hummingbirds and butterflies, so they are often the center of life and motion.

Recently there has been a resurgence of interest in Weigela and hybridizers have been busy developing newer varieties. They are now more compact, reblooming, and more colorful than ever. They can have pink, red, or white flowers on bright green, dark green, bronze or variegated leaves.

Since they lose their leaves in winter, they start off every spring with clean colorful foliage, There's one for every garden! Following are some of the many varieties we currently have in stock:

Coco Krunch has deep red foliage with soft red flowers. Colorful and compact, it grows 2 to 3 feet tall and wide.

Dark Horse has bronzy foliage and purplish-pink blooms. It has a neat and tidy form, growing to about 3 feet tall and wide.

Crimson Kisses has bright red flowers on dense green foliage. It is a very prolific rebloomer. It grows to about 3 feet tall and wide.

Magical Fantasy has white-edged leaves and soft pink blooms. It sings of spring! It grows 3 to 4 feet tall and wise.

Pink Poppet has shell pink flowers and green foliage. It is a prolific rebloomers and has a tidy form. It grows 3 to 4 feet tall and wide.

Just In Time For Spring Planting:
Buy 3, Get 1 FREE
Gardner & Bloome Organics Soil Sale!

That’s right, our 3 most popular Gardner & Bloome Organics soil amendments are on sale through April 22nd (Earth Day)! Buy 3 and get 1 FREE. You can mix and match them too! Stock up and get your spring garden started off strong. GBO soils are all organic. Sale includes:

Harvest Supreme - recommended to mix into your soil when planting vegetables, annuals, and herbs.	Planting Mix - recommended to mix into your soil when planting perennials, fruit trees, and landscape plants.	Raised Bed & Potting Mix - recommended to use straight into raised beds.

Organic Spring Lawn Care

G&B Organics Lawn Fertilizer feeds your soil and your lawn. It's perfect for replenishing the nutrients washed out by rain.

• All-organic, won't burn

• Helps break down thatch

• Releases slowly and steadily

• Contains beneficial soil microbes

Get Grubs NOW!

If your (or your neighbor's) lawn was torn up by varmints last fall, it's time to get those grubs NOW!

OMRI-approved Safer Grub Control uses Neem Oil (from the Neem tree) to kill newly emerging grubs before they have a chance to mate and lay eggs for the next generation. Just attach the bottle to your hose and spray. It's easy!

Another organic grub control choice is to sic beneficial nematodes on to those grubs. Beneficial nematodes lay their eggs in grubs. The eggs hatch and eat their way out of the grub (like in Alien). Beneficial nematodes are also safe to use in vegetable gardens. Just mix them with water and spray them, or use them in a watering can.

Whichever grub control treatment you choose, repeat it in August.

April 4th through April 8th:
San Francisco Flower and Garden Show

A fun experience for the whole family. Display gardens, garden talks and an amazing array of garden merchandise await. It's all happening at the Cow Palace in SF. Buy your tickets here to avoid the lines at the show. Bring your ticket back after the show and receive $10 off any $40 or larger purchase!

Sunday, May 13th is Mother's Day!

Say it with flowers or herbs and veggies. A container garden assembled by her loved ones is a precious gift. We can help! 20% OFF All Roses Mother's Day Weekend, May 12th and 13th!

Saturday and Sunday, June 1st and 2nd from 11 AM to 3 PM:
Chrysanthemum Starter Plant Sale!

The sale is a benefit for the Bay Area Chrysanthemum Society. Consider joining! Here's your chance to acquire some exciting varieties!

Saturday, June 9th from 10 AM to 2 PM:
Fuchsia Show and Sale!

Come see some beautiful Fuchsia blossoms and purchase starter plants to benefit the Fuchsia Society. Learn how to grow your own beauties.